Five die in fierce gun battle as violence in Saudi capital mounts

Saudi security forces were last night fighting a fierce battle with suspected militants in a residential area of the capital, Riyadh.

Sources told the Guardian that huge numbers of special forces and anti-riot police had surrounded a large area of the Rajhi district and sealed it off. At least three helicopters were circling overhead.

Ambulances took away an unknown number of injured. Four Saudi police officers and one militant were killed, according to Saudi security forces.

"Armed men in the building are hurling hand grenades and opening automatic rifle fire on the security forces," said Jamil Thiabi, correspondent of the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation in Riyadh.

It was the second consecutive day of violence in the capital. On Monday Saudi police arrested 10 men who allegedly belonged to a terrorist cell planning to attack a British target, according to a Saudi government official.

Saad al-Fagih of the Movement for Islamic Reform in Arabia, a London-based opposition group, said the clashes were the latest in a series over the past two weeks. Three "major incidents" in Mecca, Medina and al-Jawf last week had gone unreported, he said.

A resident reached by telephone in the southern neighbourhood of Riyadh told the Reuters news agency that at least five houses were being targeted in the raid.

"The operation is very big. The whole area is surrounded by security police," he added. As he spoke, the sound of machine guns and exploding grenades could be heard in the background.

Ambulances sped from several houses in the district, which is known as a fundamentalist stronghold.

Police cordoned off the area, preventing passersby and reporters from approaching.

The clashes come amid a government crackdown on Islamist militants launched after the suicide attacks in Riyadh on May 12 which killed 26 people and nine attackers.

Saudi police have stepped up efforts to crush cells of al-Qaida, the terror network blamed for the September 11 attacks as well as the recent Riyadh bombings.

But Mr Fagih said there was no evidence that any of those arrested in the current sweeps were connected with the small group that carried out the May bombings. "I think this is a much bigger circle," he said.

Opposition sources say the situation has been inflamed by the release last week of six Britons who had been imprisoned on terrorism charges.

"The release of the westerners angered a lot of people," said Ali al-Ahmad of the US-based Saudi Institute. "Saudis who have spent years in prison with no lawyers or charges are upset."

The May bombings sparked unprecedented public discussion on the role of religion in Saudi society, with some arguing that the strict form of Islam preached there fostered intolerance and extremism.